General Reports

[QUOTE=Soicowboytony]I'll be leaving for my first TJ trip this Friday and returning Saturday. It'll take me about 2.5 hours to get there and was wondering what time of day on a Friday is the least busy time to cross by automobile.

Are Saturdays better to return than Sundays?[/QUOTE]

Are you sure you want to cross by auto?

Getting across isn't the problem on a Friday. Getting there is. Traffic can be horrible from 3:00 to 7:00, depending on how many wrecks on the 5.

Going back, Sunday afternoons/evenings can be pretty brutal. Late Sat might be better. But I've seen huge lines on Tuesdays, so who knows? The lines are lighter around 3AM.

Again, are you sure you want to cross by auto?

[QUOTE=Soicowboytony]I'll be leaving for my first TJ trip this Friday and returning Saturday. It'll take me about 2.5 hours to get there and was wondering what time of day on a Friday is the least busy time to cross by automobile.

Are Saturdays better to return than Sundays?[/QUOTE]Leaving TJ Friday is bad Saturday is worst and Sunday is fucked.

[QUOTE=Soicowboytony]I'll be leaving for my first TJ trip this Friday and returning Saturday. It'll take me about 2.5 hours to get there and was wondering what time of day on a Friday is the least busy time to cross by automobile.

Are Saturdays better to return than Sundays?[/QUOTE]Your US insurance is no good. Parking is a pain in the rear and then wanting to check on it all the time is another downer.

This is your first trip so park US and taxi over. Get the lay of the land on foot ( you can always retrieve your car later). Not a lot of need for driving on first trip. Getting back across the border is easier too.

I have drove over 4 times before I knew how foolish I was being ( I think it was a feeling of being safer). Got a dent in my rental once in the parking lot on Ave Rev and paid a $50 fine to policia once when caught driving wrong way on a street.

It is so much better to leave your car on US side. RTFF

The border crossing at Otay Mesa is the best kept secret in Mexico. Instead of waiting for 2 hours or so in San Ysidro, you wait for under an hour at Otay. Many times, I waited less than 15 minutes, and one Friday afternoon at 3Pm, I didn't wait at all, crossing into the USA.

Learn how to get across at Otay if you are driving. You'll save lots of time.

Country John

[QUOTE=Phordphan]Are you sure you want to cross by auto?[/QUOTE]I'm being referred to a doctor and I have an appt. This Saturday. I've booked a room at the Fiesta Inn on Paseo de los Héroes, Zona Río. The doctor's office is within one block walking distance.

I thought I'd go down Friday afternoon for a bit of fun and frivolity and return north of the border either Saturday or Sunday.

I had planned on taking cabs during my stay. If I take a cab from the hotel to AB, is it the $5 charge I've been reading about? Is Hard Rock Cafe within walking distance of AB or should I take a cab to and from?

Many thanks!

[b]SoiCowboyTony[/b]

[QUOTE=Country John]The border crossing at Otay Mesa is the best kept secret in Mexico. Instead of waiting for 2 hours or so in San Ysidro, you wait for under an hour at Otay. Many times, I waited less than 15 minutes, and one Friday afternoon at 3Pm, I didn't wait at all, crossing into the USA.

Learn how to get across at Otay if you are driving. You'll save lots of time.

Country John[/QUOTE]By the looks at Google Maps, the Otay Mesa entry/exit is approximately six miles east of San Ysidro, right?

[b]SoiCowboyTony[/b]

I really don't think you need your car once inside Tj. It would probably be better if you parked it stateside. You can practically walk anywhere you need to in the Zona. Or just take cabs.

The Hard Rock Cafe has closed down. Don't see why anyone would want to travel to another country and eat at a US franchise restaurant anyways.


Here's a map a made. It'll help you get familiar with the Tj territory. Print it out and take it with you.

[url]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1020/tj2te4.gif[/url]

As you can tell, it needs some updating. I'm working on it...

[QUOTE=Efjayel]I really don't think you need your car once inside Tj. It would probably be better if you parked it stateside. You can practically walk anywhere you need to in the Zona. Or just take cabs.

The Hard Rock Cafe has closed down. Don't see why anyone would want to travel to another country and eat at a US franchise restaurant anyways.


Here's a map a made. It'll help you get familiar with the Tj territory. Print it out and take it with you.

[url]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1020/tj2te4.gif[/url]

As you can tell, it needs some updating. I'm working on it...[/QUOTE]

The Hard Rock was a rip off. Banking on name recognition alone wasn't enough for these greedy bastards. I stepped to buy a simple $5. t-shirt for my brother, and they wanted almost $40.

Good riddance.

The map is fantastic and should be printed out by anyone even thinking of coming to TJ. In fact, Jackson should dedicate a locked thread to it, or stick it under Otooles thread. It represents a lot of hard work and research so KUDOs to you for this very helpful map, which is a valuable aid for members here at ISG.

Yes, Otay is about 6 miles East.

Country John

[QUOTE=Country John]
The map is fantastic and should be printed out by anyone even thinking of coming to TJ. In fact, Jackson should dedicate a locked thread to it, or stick it under Otooles thread. It represents a lot of hard work and research so KUDOs to you for this very helpful map, which is a valuable aid for members here at ISG.

Country John[/QUOTE]


Thanks but I have yet to hear from Jackson. :(

I plan to research and add more to the map but not until I return to Tj. Which hopefully will be this weekend. I know, I keep saying that so much I should put it on a record.

And if you're going to buy a t-shirt for your brother, buy him one of the Adelitas Bar t-shirt. :D

From the web http://www.alternet.org/sex/101203/prostitutes_in_tijuana_forced_to_pay_more_for_testing/

[quote]Prostitutes in Tijuana Forced to Pay More for Testing

By Erika Cebreros, New America Media. Posted October 1, 2008.

Editor's Note: The price of health cards required for sex workers in Tijuana has increased in what observers say is a "scandalous" and "immoral" setback in the fight against HIV.

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Like thousands of women, Veronica Lizarraga, 18, migrated from the interior of Mexico to Tijuana, where she joined the ranks of the city's prostitutes. She picks up customers as an erotic dancer at Hong Kong, one of the more sophisticated strip clubs in the border town's red light district. Her average weekly earnings: $2,000.

With modern architecture and neon lights, this business employs more than 300 dancers. Most of its customers are foreigners, men from southern California looking for fun and sex that's cheaper than in their country.

In order to work at Hong Kong, Veronica and her colleagues are required to have a health ID card that the local government issues to sex workers. Each month they undergo a series of medical tests for sexually transmitted infections and every four months, for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). If all goes well, the city's Department of Health Control renews their cards.

"Without it (the health card) you can't work here," said Veronica, originally from Mazatlan, Sinaloa.

Earlier this year, health authorities in Tijuana announced a price increase in the medical tests required for sex workers. The annual fee rose from $300 to $500.

This news doesn't worry high-income sex workers like Veronica. But the price increase has had a much greater impact on street sex workers who earn much less, according to Victor Clark Alfaro, director of Tijuana's Binational Human Rights Center.

Clark Alfaro called the price increase "immoral and scandalous." One of its serious consequences, he said, is that "many [sex workers] are going to choose not to go to the doctor."

Health advocates believe that the move is a setback in the fight against the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, particularly HIV and the epidemic of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) that has reached alarming numbers in Tijuana.

It is estimated that one in 125 people between the ages of 15 and 49 is living with HIV in this border town, according to a study by Kimberly C. Brouwer from the University of California in San Diego (USCD).

Guillermo Alonso Meneses, director of the cultural studies department at Tijuana's Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Northern Border School) called Tijuana a "hotbed for a very serious potential public health crisis."

He insisted that these medical tests should be free. "Charging such a vulnerable population for this kind of test is another example of the injustice of the Mexican state," he said, "which already taxes the rich so that it can invest in this kind of thing, not only because of the threat of AIDS but also of other diseases."

The price increase is also worrisome because it coincides with an economic crisis: According to Clark Alfaro, sex workers here have seen a 70 percent decrease in customers.

Earlier this year, before Tijuana increased the price of medical tests for sex workers, the Directorate of Municipal Health (DMS) reported that Tijuana had 1,700 registered sex workers. This number is expected to decrease as a result of the fee hike.

ProstitutesThe fee hike for medical tests required for sex workers has had the greatest effect on those who work in the street. The real figure is a mystery. Ana Cristina Nisifore, of DMS's Department of Health Control, said that the current number of registered sex workers in the city is "confidential." Several employees of the DMS indicated that the only person authorized to discuss the topic of sex workers was the director of the unit, Dr. Miguel Antonio Osuna Millan. However, he did not respond to multiple requests for an interview made by this newspaper.

Gathered in a small room they rent not far from the red light district, representatives of the Mary Magdalene Vanguard Organization of Free Women, which represents 80 sex workers, expressed their disagreement over the sharp increase in the cost of health cards.

Most of the "Magdalenas," as they are known, are from the Southern Mexican states of Tlaxcala, Puebla, Guerrero, Hidalgo and Veracruz, where economic misery forced them to migrate to northern Mexico.

These women are part of the sector of street prostitution. They congregate around several hotels in the red light district, also known as "La Coahuila."

Maribel Ramirez, who used to work in a maquiladora in her hometown of Puebla, said that all members of the "Magdalenas" have a health card.

However, the 30-year-old said she knows several street sex workers who "have no 'card' because of their economic situation." Most of these women are single mothers like her who work to support their children.

After the price increase was announced, the "Magdalenas" negotiated a deal with DMS Director Dr. Osuna Millan. They demanded additional optometric and gynecological services. And although they came to an agreement signed "under protest," they said the new fee they have to pay still seems unfair.

The "Magdalenas" and the dancers at Hong Kong represent just a fraction of the estimated 9,000 sex workers who work in this border town, according to Steffanie A. Strathdee, a researcher with the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).

The low number of women registered with the Health Department - only 1,700 - is a sign that the program is "a failure," Clark Alfaro believes.

Instead of implementing pragmatic policies that encourage more sex workers to get tested, the new increase has had the opposite effect: "You are pushing people into a sector of prostitution that has no guarantees, and where they could fall into the hands of the mafia and unscrupulous customers," said Alonso Meneses.

"The people who approved these increases are idiots," he said. "In Mexico, policies are made by people who don't have their feet on the ground, or don't understand that a fee hike in a time of crisis could disrupt the entire health control program."

The names of the sex workers interviewed in this article were changed for their protection. This report was conducted through a workshop offered by the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, Calif.[/quote]

The girls will have no problem with this increse, it's just another session (or two).

2,000 a week? I don't think they will have a problem with the increase.

Hey fellas,

If anyone makes it across the border this weekend, I am curious to hear how busy it is so please keep that in mind for your reports. I'm just wondering if all this economic shit has started to take toll yet. I firmly believe that regardless of the bill passing or not, it's gonna be very very bad stateside for awhile. I'll give a full report as well when I fly in for Halloween weekend.

GT

Since when does 2 sessions equal $200? Going rate would mean almost 4 extra customers for bar girls and practically 7 more customers for street girls to make up for the difference.

I agree that this was a stupid decision by whoever it was that decided this. Testing should be free. This would definitely help to prevent spreading STD's.

[QUOTE=Green_Thumb]Hey fellas,

If anyone makes it across the border this weekend, I am curious to hear how busy it is so please keep that in mind for your reports. I'm just wondering if all this economic shit has started to take toll yet. I firmly believe that regardless of the bill passing or not, it's gonna be very very bad stateside for awhile. I'll give a full report as well when I fly in for Halloween weekend.

GT[/QUOTE]

Here's my totally unscientific findings: I went to Azteca Massage a couple of night ago and the bar underneath it (on the second floor) was dark and quiet. Revolution in general was dead. However, the alley and zona clubs were as busy as normal for a Wed. night.